Driveclub Explained: Blu-Ray vs PS+ Edition – The Game Has a Very Stupid “Upgrade” System

Sony’s upcoming racing video game Drivelub is getting a lot of heat. Developed as a PlayStation 4 exclusive by Evolution Studios, Driveclub is the most highly awaited next-gen game for Sony’s latest video game console. A week ago, after a long period of delay, Evolution Studios finally announced the launch date of the game. Today, the developer has revealed some details about Driveclub PlayStation Plus Edition.

Sony has shown no sign of a Gran Turismo title for its latest video game console, this is why millions of PlayStation 4 users have their eyes set on Driveclub, a socially connected racing game where players join different clubs to race. Evolution Studios re-revealed Driveclub a week ago and announced that the game will hit the platform on October 7, 2014. Fulfilling its promise of providing frequent updates to the fans, the developer today released this week’s first of three Driveclub updates, giving out new details about the PlayStation Plus Edition of the game.

“Welcome to the first of three DRIVECLUB updates this week,” reads the update post on PlayStation Blog. “DRIVECLUB PlayStation Plus Edition has been a hot topic since its announce, so today’s video (the first of three) should answer most of your questions about the actual content included in this edition compared to the Blu-ray version. One of the recurring questions we keep seeing is about the scale of the PlayStation Plus Edition. The simple answer is that with an active PlayStation Plus subscription, you can download DRIVECLUB PlayStation Plus Edition, which comes with one location (India), 11 tracks, 10 cars and access to all game modes.”

The post giving details about Driveclub PlayStation Plus Edition explains what PlayStation 4 users will get if they purchase the PlayStation Plus Edition of the game, in-game additional content, pricing, availability and upgrading. While the game itself sounds like a real spinner, the upgrading system explained by the developer is quite stupid.

So here is how it goes. To seduce you, Sony is offering a “free” copy of Driveclub to those PlayStation 4 users who are active subscribers of PlayStation Plus, an online service by the Japanese firm that provides entertainment media content and multiplayer gameplay to PlayStation users. The thing is, so-called “free” copy of the game is obviously scaled down. Users will be able to try out every game mode, but with only a few cars and tracks available.

Now that you have tested the game and want to upgrade to full package, you have two options to choose from. First, just like all other games, you will either have to grab a physical copy of the game stored on a Blu-Ray disc or pay for a digital version of the game on the PSN store. Both digital and physical versions of the game will cost $60. They will be your standard Driveclub with all the tracks, all the cars and all the other stuff that the game packs. Of course, you will have to pay for a PS+ subscription in order to play game online but if not for multiplayer, $60 is all what standard version of the game will cost you.

Second, the free version of the game that you just tested can be upgraded to the PlayStation Plus Edition. You will benefit from this upgrade in two ways; all the progress you made in free version of the game will be transferred to the complete game and PlayStation Plus Edition costs $50, this means you will save $10. Now here is the catch in Driveclub PlayStation Plus Edition; the game will be only accessible via your PS+ account. Either your PS+ subscription expires or you decide to take off, and the game you just paid $50 for is locked.

Driveclub PlayStation Plus Edition is cheap, but it comes with a very disturbing access mechanism. Conclusion? Getting the standard version for $60 is much better. Below is a video just released by Evolution Studios explaining all this upgrade mechanism.